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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27878414">This Magic Moment (Will Last Forever)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/bev_hm/pseuds/bev_hm'>bev_hm</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Pining, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 14:55:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,482</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27878414</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/bev_hm/pseuds/bev_hm</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“It’s not a date.”</p><p>“It’s kind of a date.”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>70</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>This Magic Moment (Will Last Forever)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello everyone! Here’s the second fic for the month, this time a nice gift for my very good friend <a href="https://twitter.com/thesadclownx?s=21">Thoth!</a> who I love a lot &lt;3</p><p>Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“It’s not a date.”</p><p>
  <em> “It’s kind of a date.” </em>
</p><p>Richie sighed for what seemed the millionth time during the call. “Bev, I just called to ask you what I should wear to a fucking restaurant, not to have the same conversation we’ve been having for the past seven months.”</p><p><em> “Well then make a fucking move already! I can’t believe you keep doing this shit and not calling it a date.” </em> She replied. <em> “I mean really Rich? Dinner and a movie? The most basic date concept of all time?” </em></p><p>“Eddie has never been to a premiere before! And the dinner was supposed to be with Steve before he got the flu” he put the phone on speakerphone as he looked for the jacket Bev had told him to use. “Look, I have no time for this alright? I gotta pick up the tickets at the office before getting Eddie.”</p><p>
  <em> “Have fun on your date!” </em>
</p><p>“It’s not a date you fucking-“</p><p>
  <em> ‘CLICK’ </em>
</p><p>“Goddammit red” </p><p>Richie wasn’t stupid, he knew that his plans for the night had a mere detail separating it between a romantic outing and a friendly hangout. Sure, over the eight months they knew each other, he had irremediably fallen head over heels for Eddie Kaspbrak, but that didn’t mean that his feelings were reciprocated. And sure, every day that passed it was a little harder for him to be around the man without feeling the urge to yell out how much he loved him, but he had held it together so far! All he had to do was take it one day at a time. </p><p>His phone pinged with the tone he had selected just for Eddie, illuminating the room and showing a picture that Mike had taken of them a little over a month back when they went as Bert and Ernie and Richie died a little inside when Eddie was confused by his comment of the puppets clearly being in love. </p><p>“But I thought they were just friends?” He had said, his brow furrowed into that adorable expression that made Richie want to rip his hair out. </p><p>He had simply laughed and made one of his trusty ‘your mom jokes’ to divert the subject. When he got home that night he barely slept, overthinking the conversation for hours. Had he blown his cover? Did the man know that all he wanted was to bicker with him for the rest of his life? </p><p>The next day Eddie invited him to watch a new episode of his favorite show and he swept everything under the rug.</p><p>Right now though, as he tried the tenth knot on his only non-patterned tie, he couldn’t help but believe that the line he had been tiptoeing since they met would be shattered that night, and the amazing friendship he had created would crash and burn with no chance of survival. As he looked at the clock on his wall he was filled with anxiousness. Maybe he could still cancel! Maybe he could just tell Eddie he was feeling sick and give him the tickets so he could go with someone he was actually interested in, giving Richie an excuse to finally move on. Or at the very least try.</p><p>But Richie knew Eddie, and he was positive that if he even mentioned he was feeling under the weather, the former hypochondriac would show up with all kinds of remedies for every symptom he could think of. It was too risky. </p><p>His alarm rang, so he took a deep breath try to shook off all of his anxious feelings, and walked out of his apartment, hoping that his fears were founded on nothing. </p><p>He got to Eddie’s apartment building about an hour later, once he had picked up the tickets. His hands started to sweat as he went up the elevator, anticipation filling all his senses. He knocked on the door a bit harsher than he expected, and not even five seconds passed before the door opened, revealing a smiling Eddie on the other side.</p><p>His heart started pounding as he took in these in front of him. He was wearing a burgundy suit, no question a Marsh original, and as he wracked through his memory he identified it as one of the designs he had modeled at Bev’s latest show (Because of course he modeled! The hot bastard). His hair was wavier than usual, like instead of the fifteen products he usually used, only a styling foam had made the cut. He looked so good. </p><p>Richie wanted to cry. </p><p>He was brought back to the day he realized that his feelings for Eddie had crossed the line from platonic to ‘this man is my soulmate’. He didn’t know whether to curse Bill for introducing them a month back at the release party of his latest book, or thank him infinitely for putting his favorite person in his life. So he proceeded to send him a very confusing gift basket which the author took as a prank. </p><p>“Richie, are you ok?” Eddie said, taking him out from his daydream. </p><p>He shook his head like a dog, earning an exasperated groan. “Never been better spagheds! Why may I say that you look devilishly handsome on this fine ev’ning!” He explains, hiding his very real compliment behind the southern bell voice, one of Eddie’s ‘secret’ favorites. He gets the response he expected, a quick unavoidable snort and a light punch of the arm, and he gets slightly pushed back so the man can step out of the apartment and lock the door. </p><p>Just to be an asshole, Richie exaggeratedly puts out his arm for Eddie to take. Instead of the shove, he’d thought he’d get, he sees, almost in slow motion, as Eddie wraps his own around it. He squeezes his forearm and puts on a self-satisfied grin that makes Richie want to melt into a fucking puddle. Not one to be upped he mirrors the gesture, ignoring the way his brain blasts the alarm <em> ‘TOO REAL! TOO REAL!’ </em>over and over again. </p><p>The premiere they were going to was for a movie Richie had a five-minute cameo in. It was written and produced by one of his oldest friends in the industry, so when he asked him to get paid to show up for one day to say less than twenty lines and be able to go to the wrap party as well as the premiere, he obviously had said yes. When he told Eddie about his extra ticket for the premiere, the man had very shyly admitted that despite having a couple of famous friends, he had never gone to one, and Richie had found him so adorable that he jumped at the chance to take him. He now sang another tune, as he fidgeted with the hem of his suit jacket while Eddie ranted about a shitty coworker from his office. </p><p>They got to the venue to see the red carpet in full swing, and Richie was able to spot Jane, a producer from the studio, who weirdly seemed to have taken over the duty of receiving the guests. They walked towards her, and Richie was barely able to say hi before she started pushing them onto the carpet. </p><p>He tried to explain that Eddie was not famous and that he would be walking in from the other way like his friend had told him, but Jane was a woman on a mission, so he had no other choice but to bring him along so everyone could see that Eddie Kaspbrak was his date.</p><p>Great. </p><p>He was thankfully ignored by interviewers in favor of the more relevant stars, but he still couldn’t escape the photo ops, and he internally cringed as he thought of the many phone calls he would be receiving once the photos of them, with Eddie’s arm around his waist, came out to the public. The man must have sensed how tense he was, for which he leaned over and whispered in his ear, “You’re doing great, alright? You look amazing.”</p><p>All he could do in response was to slightly nod, as he felt his throat close up and tears well up in his eyes. He couldn’t even be mad at Eddie, for his intentions were well-meaning, so he just sucked it up and tried his best to not breakdown in front of dozens of cameras.</p><p>Finally, they reached the entrance of the movie theater, and Richie excused himself quickly to the bathroom after giving Eddie the location of their seats. He rushed to a stall, in which once he made sure the door was locked, had to hyperventilate as he tried to put the mesh of feelings in his brain in order. His chest hurt as his mind flashes the tenderness of Eddie’s words, always quick to comfort him when he thought he was nervous. He loved this man so much it pained him to be confronted with the reality that his encouraging words would never be anything more than a friendly gesture. He must have taken long in the bathroom since he suddenly got a text from Eddie asking him if he was ok. Richie wanted to tell him that no, he was not ok and in fact, it would be great if he could run out of the theatre and hide in Ben’s house in Nebraska for a month, so Eddie could have more free time and actually date someone instead of wasting his time with him. But he couldn’t do that, so he replied with a thumbs up and forced himself to go to the seat, where his fucking friend-date was waiting for him. </p><p>Eddie surprisingly heard him coming through the commotion of people saying hello and finding their places, and he shot him a slightly concerned but nevertheless happy smile that incited back his earlier wishes to run away to the woods. He shot a weak smile back and plopped down onto his seat only to be immediately bombarded with Eddie freaking out about all the famous people he had seen so far. Then the lights came down, effectively shutting him up. </p><p>The movie was funny. Lara, his friend, had always been recognized by their peers as one of the most prolific comedians to come from their SNL generation, and it was portrayed in every project she was involved with. Sadly, he would have to see it again before he could give her his review during their next monthly brunch, for he spent the entire time looking at Eddie. Watching him watch the movie was an experience in and of itself. The way he laughed, the way he frowned. The way he whispered stuff at the characters as if they could hear him. It was all so Eddie. </p><p>God, how much he loved Eddie. </p><p>The movie ended and they stayed there for about half an hour while Richie made the rounds and introduced Eddie to a few of his famous friends. Once he felt he had made his presence known, like his agent told him to, they exited the building and took an Uber to the restaurant they had reservations on.</p><p>Initially, the dinner was gonna be composed by them, as well as his manager Steve and his wife, but the couple fell ill a day or two back, so they were unable to attend. One part of Richie was glad since he knew Steve would spend the entire time ribbing him about his obvious feelings for Eddie, while the other was terrified that he would have to spend the whole night dealing with his feelings for Eddie. </p><p>The restaurant was a fancy one, for which they were appropriately dressed, and their table was one of the best in the place with no doubt, having a beautiful view of the city. The music was what Richie would expect to be playing in the living room of his childhood home, as his parents swayed around the space, humming the melody and looking at each other in the eyes, sharing the same amount of love and devotion. The dulcet tones of Ben E. King filled the place, making him unconsciously move to the song. </p><p>
  <em> ‘This magic moment </em>
</p><p>
  <em> So different and so new </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Was like any other </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Until I kissed you </em>
</p><p>
  <em> And then it happened </em>
</p><p>
  <em> It took me by surprise </em>
</p><p>
  <em> I knew that you felt it too </em>
</p><p>
  <em> By the look in your eyes’ </em>
</p><p>Richie realized he had been singing along too late, and he snapped his head up from the menu only to see that Eddie was looking for him with an expression full of a feeling he couldn’t quite decipher, but for which the hopeful part of his brain immediately named as <em> ‘Love’ </em></p><p>He cleared his throat, seemingly pulling out Eddie as well from whatever daydream he had gotten himself into. “So you know what you’re gonna order?” He asked.</p><p>The man shook his head in response. “I was thinking about the Parmesan Risotto? But I also kinda wanted the steak.”</p><p>“Tell you what my dear Eds. I’ll order the steak, you order the other thing, and then we share! It’ll be like the great Hannah Montana once said, the best of both worlds.”</p><p>Eddie snorted and then tried to cover it up with a cough. He agreed to the deal and tasked himself with ordering their drinks. </p><p>“So Eduardo, what did you think of the movie?” He asked, trying to break the silence.</p><p>“It was good.” He replied nonchalantly.</p><p>“Just good?”</p><p>“I liked it, thought it was funny.”</p><p>Richie scoffed. “Dude you fucking loved it and you know it.” He rolled his eyes at the shrug he received in response. “Is this payback from when we watched the Star Trek show? ‘Cause I’ve told you that I did like it! You’re just very easy to rile up.”</p><p>“Well, guess I’m not the one that’s easy now.” They locked eyes, Eddie sort of defying him with his gaze. “Dipshit.”</p><p>Richie cackled loudly, earning a glare from his companion. “God Eds, there’s no need to rile me up. I’m open to your business 24/7.”</p><p>As his eyebrows raised, his dignity dropped.</p><p>But, instead of the shove or curse he was expecting, he was surprised once again by the man following along. “Well, it’s always good to have a reminder, Rich.” He said with a wink. </p><p>Richie wanted to die.</p><p>The dinner went relatively smoothly, considering Richie’s state as a ticking time bomb. It takes him some time to loosen up and tune out the shitty thoughts that had been in his head all day, but regardless of how he’d be feeling, there was something about Eddie that helped him forget all his worries, even for a little while. Sure, he still has an anxious feeling at the back of his head, but as the night goes on, and they move from trivial topics to absurd arguments, it becomes foggier and foggier. All too soon they’re asking for the check, and after a ten-minute fight about who’d be taking care of paying, which Richie ultimately won, they’re walking to Eddie’s apartment, which ended up being surprisingly close. </p><p>They joke around as they walk, and it takes all of Richie’s strength not to reach for his hand. They walk up the stairs, despite his infinite protests. They reach Eddie’s door, and a quiet falls upon them. </p><p>“Thank you for taking me to the premiere. I had a lot of fun.” Eddie says as he nervously runs his hand through his hair. It’s being distracted with that gesture the reason for which Richie’s response is delayed. </p><p>“No problem, spaghetti! I’m glad I could help in making your dreams come true.”</p><p>Eddie rolls his eyes fondly, and the smile he puts on has Richie gripping to the wall for any sort of support. “Also, thanks for dinner. But you better fucking believe I’m getting the bill next time asshole! Don’t even try to fight me about it.”</p><p>Richie smiles. “I promise you I won’t”</p><p>“Good”</p><p>They stare at each other, and Richie suddenly feels an unnamed tension fill the air. He thinks his mind’s playing tricks, for he sees Eddie’s gaze drop to his lips before looking back up once again. He feels uncomfortable with the silence and is about to say goodbye when a pair of hands grab each side of his face, and then he’s being pulled into a kiss that he had accepted would only happen in his dreams.</p><p>It ends pretty quickly, and it takes one look at Eddie’s shocked expression for Richie to break down into tears. </p><p>“Fuck, Richie I’m so sorry!” Eddie exclaims as soon as he hears the first sob. Richie shakes his head, too overwhelmed to say anything, which only freaks out the other man more. “Richie, please don’t cry! You know I can’t handle people crying! Oh and now I’m making this about myself, I’m a fucking asshole, oh god,”</p><p>Richie’s trying to put all his energy into being able to give him any sort of verbal response, but he’s just so exhausted. All this time he’s been keeping his feelings contained, and out of nowhere, he plants one on him for what? Shits and giggles? A pitiful thank you? An easy one-night-stand? He can’t handle any of those options. He just can’t. </p><p>He feels Eddie’s tentative hand on his shoulder giving him a light squeeze and two very awkward pats, and he looks up to see his face contorted in a mix of fear and confusion which is so devastating and funny that he has to laugh. At his face, at the situation, at his life. He lets out a chuckle, which gives him the time to take a deep breath and be able to decide what to do next. He thinks <em> ‘Fuck it. What do I have to lose? This thing is already shitty, just as well put a ribbon on top.’ </em></p><p>“Eddie, I’m in love with you.”</p><p>The hand on his shoulder drops like dead weights as Eddie’s body reacts with shock. Richie can almost see the pieces of their friendship falling sadly to the ground, and it hurts so much, but he’s already started. He’s gotta bring it home. </p><p>“I am so fucking in love with you it’s insane dude. I love literally everything you do, even when you’re being a little shit. Especially when you’re being a little shit!” He laughs some more. “And it fucking hurts man, ‘cause I’ve been trying to contain all of it for months, but every day I fall deeper and deeper and it’s getting so fucking hard but I’m doing it! I’ve been keeping it inside for as long as I could but after this? I can’t do it anymore Eds.”</p><p>His gaze had dropped down as he talked, not being able to handle whatever emotion of disgust or pity he’s sure Eddie’s feeling right now. He had always been very expressive, but right now he could not handle seeing the frown and pursed lips he loved so much. “Man, I don’t know why you kissed me. But I just can’t deal with coming back to normal after this. I’m sorry.”</p><p>“You love me?”</p><p>“Eds, I can’t say it again.”</p><p>“But you do, right? You love me.”</p><p>He finally forced himself to look up and face the product of his confession, and he was confused to see Eddie’s face portray an emotion that he never would’ve expected; hope. </p><p>He nodded, having just enough strength to do so. </p><p>Suddenly, the same hands were on his face again, as he was dragged into another kiss. This one shorter, and Richie just about started crying again when he heard nine hurried words that shattered his world:</p><p>“I love you Rich. I love you so much:”</p><p>He let out a strangled sob, before putting everything he had into the third kiss of the night. It was messy, full of tears from both sides, but it was filled with desperation, and want, and so much <em> love. </em>He crowded Eddie against the wall, putting his hands through his hair. Eddie wrapped his arms around his back to drag him as close as he could and Richie had never felt so wanted as he did at that moment. With every movement of their lips, doubts dissipated as they were replaced with a feeling that Richie never wanted to let go of. </p><p>They finally ran out of air and separated with shiny eyes and big smiles on their faces. The look Eddie gave him was so tender, that Richie had to hide his face on Eddie’s neck as to not be perceived. Eddie laughed and gave the side of his head a quick peck that had Richie reeling with happiness. </p><p>“I love you, sweetheart. I love you so much.” Eddie murmured into his hair. </p><p>“I love you too,” Richie replied, hugging him hard. </p><p>With zero plans of ever letting him go. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>You can find me on <a href="https://twitter.com/bev_hm?s=21">Twitter</a> and here’s my <a href="https://ko-fi.com/effy0279">Ko-Fi</a> If you’d like to support me! </p><p>Thanks for reading!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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